Playoffs! …I had to do it

Every year seems like its going to be the best. Every year there are series that intrigue, and seemingly more so than th year before. That’s just the beauty of the NBA playoffs. No matter who’s in, regardless of whether your team made it or not, you get excited. Provided your a basketball fan of course.

That being said out of that same excitement I had to write a blog on the playoffs. Here are my picks and opinion on each series…

First to get rid my picks for NBA season awards:

MVP: Lebron. Best team, best stats. And if you took him away from the Cavs they would suffer as much and in many cases more than any other team without their star.

Defensive player: Dwight Howard. The most dominant big man in the game today- but because of his defense. People love skilled players, and the skills noticed the most are the offensive. The reason he is continuously underrated. D12 is in my opinion an MVP candidate for his defense alone.

6th man: Jamal Crawford. One of my favorite players in the league. His numbers, and the improvement of the Hawks from last season sums this argument up.

Coach of the year: To be honest I don’t think any average viewer can make any educated opinion on who should win COY because we don’t really see what they do. So with that said, my uneducated pick would be probably Jerry Sloan or Scott Skiles. Reason being that Jerry has had good playoff teams year in and year out and never gets recognition. And this year more so than any other of recent, his team is considered a contender. Skiles, on the other hand has done most with the least this season. Has brought together a fairly young Bucks team from one of the worst last year to a playoff team this year. And he has done it with key injuries all year long (Redd, Bogut).

Rookie of the year: Stephen Curry. I like all three (Jennings, Evans, and Curry) and if either won I wouldn’t disagree. I pick Curry here by a slight edge because of his game type. He has improved and his stats have almost caught up to Evans. But more importantly he seems to control the game and run his team like an experienced veteran. While Evans and Jennings have raw skill and physical ability that Curry somewhat lacks, they make rookie mistakes and achieve their statistic averages with less control and efficiency. Curry controls the tempo and takes much better shots than both. And he distributes the ball better than both. I love both Evans and Jennings and they may very well end up being better than Curry in the future, but Curry seems like a seasoned vet already.

To sum it up- its gonna be nuts, especially in the wild west. The best series in the East will be Heat Celtics, and Bobcats Magic might surprise. While in the west almost anything can happen, I call the Jazz with the only upset (seeding wise) and the Thunder to take the Lakers to 7!!! I realize the Blazers will be without Roy but I think they have enough fight and good coaching to steal a game or two from the Suns.

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5 comments

This is outrageous. Preposterous. Ludicrous. If you think in your right mind that LBJ is taking home MVP honours, you must be taking crazy pills.

Alright, all joking aside, this is the same guy who famously proposed that Sergio Rodriguez was considered the best pickup of ALL the trade deadline trades. He is now contemplating playing in Real Madrid? I’m calling it right now, possibly the best pickup Real Madrid will accomplish in their 78 year franchise history.

Alright, all joking aside again (had to do it – sorry JVukojev), you seem to be on point with your predictions. I have a couple different situations to throw your way.

Bulls are taking at least two games off Cleveland. They are coming together late while Cleveland is playing lackadaisically. I for one believe that playing at the top of your game once the season winds down is a key component to how you start off the playoffs. Throw Kirk Hinrich on LBJ and shake things up. Make LBJ play with his back to the basket. Make him throw up long jumpers. Kirk has got the foot speed (well, as well as anyone does against ‘The King’) to potentially stay in front of LBJ on the perimeter – so either give him the jumper or let him try to post you up (and let’s be honest here, he’s no Black Mamba).

Speaking of which, the Lakers are not losing 3 games to the Thunder. Sure, the Lakers have struggled (Kobe as well) in their last week and a half of regular season action – but they’re allowed to. Defending Champs – remember that. The Thunder have also entered the postseason on a not so great of a note. KD is shook by the Zen’s comments (which cost him 35 large ones), and the kid will show some nerves especially playing their first two games in Hollywood.

The season is finally over. Time to pull up your socks, toss on the throwbacks, and warm up the vocals ’cause it’s gametime BABAYYY.

Alright. New topic. Which team do you think has the best shot outside of Lakers/Cavs to make it to the Finals. One team from the East. One team from the West. (And let’s be honest, 94% of people are picking a Cavs&Lakers final.)

I’m hitting up the West.

It’s probably not THAT big of a shock I’m going with the Mavericks on this one:

a) I wholeheartedly believe that the MAVS are the best team in the NBA . . . . . Yes, I’m predicting the Mavs winning the ‘chip this year (and still openly taking bets as we speak).

b) They have the most skilled big man the NBA has seen in the past (ever?) in Dirk Nowitzki. I ask you to name me one, just ONE, player in the history of the NBA over the height of 6’9 (Yes, that means a height of 6’10 +. Sorry, Larry) that had a better skill set than Dirk. The man is a magician on the court.

c) With tough juice and b. haywood on board, they conveniently have two defensive minded gems that will do nothing but scrap for you while still giving a steady dose of offensive contribution. Could be one of THE most underrated trades of all time. (Personally, I think it’s up there with the Lakers (Pau) & NJ Nets (VC) trades of recent memory.) Give it up for Donnie Nelson and Mark Cuban.

d) Potential sixth man of the year the jet, jason terry, brings fire off the bench.

and finally,

e They have one of the greatest point guards of all time leading the team. First ballot-er guaransheed.

I feel as though I’ve given as much as I could possibly give in one sitting.

I like it. I think you went a little too far with using the words “greatest” and “of all time” a little too much, but the pic is legit.

The Mavs are the best they have been since I can remember. Although I think this, I also think that they’re stuck in a year that is quite loaded with potentially great teams. Had this team been in the playoffs and finals a few years back against the Heat the series may have been a different story. Having said that I don’t think they’re strong enough to beat the Lakers, Cavs, or Magic if it comes to it. But I like the pick regardless. Their depth and potency on both offense and defense would be my pick as well for the topic at hand.

My pick for the East outside the Cavs would have to be the Magic. Thats an obvious one. The Bulls are simply not good enough. The Bobcats although relatively strong, don’t have the firepower to equal the depth of the Magic. The Bucks are inexperienced and without their best player. While the Heat though at times showing promise with Wade leading them, just do not have enough talent to compete with the others (and yes that includes the Celtics). Speaking of which, the Celtics will beat the Heat (probably in 6) but are too old to compete with the Cavs or Magic for that matter. And finally the Hawks. The Hawks probably have the best mix of depth, youth, and experience to perhaps upset the Magic. Although I doubt it.

So thats my pick from the East. Again to reiterate, a much easier pick than the West, meaning that there may very well be surprises outside of our pick (Mavs).